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Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2022) | Viewed by 25040

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Syed Abdul Rehman Khan

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Guest Editor

1. School of Engineering and Management, Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou, China
2. Business Research and Service Institute 5521 Bridle Road, Stroudsburg, PA 18360, USA
Interests: circular economy; green supply chain; renewable energy; environmental economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The idea behind the Circular Economy (CE) is to protect environmental sustainability and balance the social, economic, and environmental performance by combining different disciplines, including management, technology, economics, society, and environment-related areas. Undeniably, there are multiple connections between these scientific areas; CE is not only to achieve sustainability but to solve diverse environmental problems and overcome potential economic disturbances through technological innovation.

For the last couple of decades, injustice use of natural resources and unsustainable practices created an alarming situation for governmental bodies to enforce firms to execute green practices in their businesses to mitigate anthropogenic activities through adopting CE model to promote environmental sustainability agenda and balancing to their triple bottom line (Social, environment, and economic) performance.

CE topics could be classified into three different layers; the macro-layer (environmental policies and plans), meso-layer (eco-clusters, industrial economy, eco-industrial parks, and industrial symbiosis), and micro-layer (enterprise-level through adopting sustainable practices).

This special issue aims to bridge the knowledge gap between industry and academia through sharing innovative ideas of CE, which can further promote sustainability agenda to reach sustainable development goals. This special issue collects rigorous research and case studies that examine and explore CE mechanisms, which can favorably shift polluted practices toward the sustainability agenda. We invite articles integrating a system perspective (i.e., environment, social, and economic interconnectedness) and addressing topics from conceptualization to execution phase of a CE at micro, meso, and macro levels.

Prof. Dr. Syed Abdul Rehman Khan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

economic evaluation of treatment
waste to energy conversion
recycling, reuse and remanufacturing
waste management
water recycle
renewable energy
onsite segregation of solid waste and treatment
life cycle analysis
decentralization of waste treatment
industrial symbiosis in the circular economy
social dimensions of a circular economy
environmental and carbon industrial linkage
environmental modelling and macro-economic indicators
sustainable/green supply chain
evolutionary game theory in recycling industry
technological innovation in CE models
circular economy practices
ce model in manufacturing and service industry

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 1237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Consumer-Based Green Brand Equity: The Role of Healthy Green Practices, Green Brand Attachment, and Green Skepticism

by Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, Adnan Ahmed Sheikh, Mubeen Ashraf and Zhang Yu

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11829; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911829 - 20 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2829

Abstract

This study examines the effect of green practices on green brand equity, and it looks at the impact of green brand attachment and green skepticism as mediating variables on these relationships. We employed a dataset of 454 consumers from international fast-food restaurants. Our empirical results indicate that green practices enhance consumer-based green brand equity. Green skepticism has a significant negative effect on green brand attachment, and green brand attachment has a significant positive effect on green brand equity. Green brand attachment mediates the relationship between green practices and green brand equity and between green skepticism and green brand equity. The study findings provide consumer insights into green products and managerial implications for international fast-food chains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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24 pages, 2388 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Is the Cohesion Policy Efficient in Supporting the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy? Some Insights with Value-Based Data Envelopment Analysis

by Maria Gouveia, Carla Henriques and Ana Amaro

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11587; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811587 - 15 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1069

Abstract

We evaluated the implementation of European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) devoted to Thematic Objective (TO) 4 in 23 beneficiary European Union (EU) Member States (MS). The assessment of each country was made through the value-based data envelopment analysis (VBDEA) approach in three phases. In the first phase, it was possible to conclude that 43% of the MS were efficient in the implementation of the ERDF devoted to a low-carbon economy (LCE), and the reasons for their efficiency were mainly explained by their execution rate. After running the second phase for the inefficient countries, it was possible to obtain the improvements that must be made for these countries to “emulate” their peers at the efficient frontier. Finally, in the third stage, we incorporated political concerns in the evaluation of the implementation of the ERDF by including constraints on the ranking order of the weights. A robustness analysis was also carried out, according to which it was found that only 22% of the MS under evaluation remained surely efficient for tolerances of δ = 5% and δ = 10%, with Spain being the most robust country. Other countries such as Romania (surely inefficient for δ = 5%), Hungary, and the Czech Republic (the most inefficient) did not manage to implement these funds efficiently. Considering these findings, the EU needs to further promote policies that ensure economic benefits from investing in an LCE, specifically for countries with fewer resources, while also providing them with better financial conditions and know-how. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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21 pages, 14109 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Bibliometric Analysis of End-of-Life Vehicles Related Research: Exploring a Path to Environmental Sustainability

by Zhang Yu, Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, Hafiz Muhammad Zia-ul-haq, Muhammad Tanveer, Muhammad Jawad Sajid and Shehzad Ahmed

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8484; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148484 - 11 Jul 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 1990

Abstract

Considering rapid economic development and continuously increasing environmental concerns, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) have significant socioeconomic value as a crucial waste stream. The research relating to ELVs has rapidly evolved over the last few years. However, existing review studies focus on specific research themes, and thus, fail to present a complete picture. Hence, this research intends to explain the current research scenario relating to ELVs by reviewing the critical published studies of the last 22 years. A total of 1405 research publications were extracted from the Scopus database covering the period from 2000 to 2021. Mainly employing bibliometric analysis techniques, this research analyzes the quantity of literature, researchers, institutions, countries, and research themes to understand the current status and future trends in ELV recycling and management. The results revealed a considerable rise in the number of articles published in the last five years. The key producers of influential ELV research are listed as the United States, China, and the United Kingdom. Globally, Chinese universities have the most ELV-related articles published. Similarly, Serbian researcher Vladimir Simic authored the most ELV-related articles during the research period. This article also identifies various research themes: management and recycling, resource recovery and components, life cycle evaluation, and socioeconomic effects. The results also reveal a strong association between distinct ELV research clusters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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18 pages, 2801 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Construction and Optimization of Green Infrastructure Network Based on Space Syntax: A Case Study of Suining County, Jiangsu Province

by Feng Wang, Jiongzhen Chen, Shuai Tong, Xin Zheng and Xiang Ji

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7732; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137732 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1834

Abstract

The construction of green infrastructure (GI) plays an important role in improving the rural ecological functions and building a green livable environment. In this paper, the methods of morpho spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and space syntax analysis are used to study the GI network construction in Suining County, Jiangsu Province. The results show that: (1) In 2018, the area of ecological patches increased by 110% compared with 1998, and the utilization rate of the GI network was significantly improved. (2) A total of 66 ecological corridors were analyzed in the county, and the main corridors were distributed in the central and western regions. The correlation analysis of core ecological patches in 1998, 2008, and 2018 proved that location factors had the greatest impact on the results of function and connectivity. (3) According to the optimization results, ecological benefits can be improved through engineering measures to realize the revitalization and development of regional rural areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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20 pages, 4645 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Game Analysis-Based Behavioral Interaction Framework between Governments and Innovative Enterprises for Intellectual Property Regulation Policies

by Qianqian Gu and Lei Hang

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6732; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116732 - 31 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1339

Abstract

Although the Chinese government has issued and revised a series of policies and regulations on intellectual property, infringement still repeatedly occurs. China is in a critical period of economic transformation and upgrading, and the problem of intellectual property infringement is becoming increasingly prominent. Accordingly, in this study, an evolutionary game analysis-based behavioral interaction framework between innovative enterprises and local government regulators, based on evolutionary game theory, was constructed. The strategy choice of both sides of the game and the evolutionary stability of the system were analyzed, and the evolutionary path of each equilibrium point was verified by simulation. The results show that the proposed framework is complex; the dynamic evolutionary system has different evolutionary equilibrium states under different institutional environments. Profit is not the only factor affecting the behavior decision of enterprises; the behavior strategies of governments also have an effect, and the interaction is mutual. Under the government supervision mode, innovative enterprises gradually evolve into the non-infringement strategy under the pressure of external supervision. However, the policy cost of this mode is too high for it to be the optimal solution for regulatory policy. Under the mode of no government supervision, the innovation incentive policy gives enterprises the internal motivation to innovate, results in a relative reduction in the infringement income, and blocks the inducement of infringement. This can effectively control enterprise infringement to realize the sustainable development of enterprises and ultimately achieve the desired objectives of government regulatory policy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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13 pages, 289 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs

by Maria Assunta Barchiesi, Roberta Costa and Francesca Di Pillo

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5661; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095661 - 07 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1828

Abstract

Promoting Agenda 2030 through Circular Economy transition requires improving waste system management and increasing separate collection. In Italy, municipal solid waste management is entrusted to the municipalities, most of which have not yet reached the minimum threshold of 65% for the separate collection imposed by the Environmental Code in 2012. This research aims to investigate the effect of compliance with environmental legislation by Italian municipalities on the total cost of municipal solid waste management, filling a shortage of literature studies on this issue. It also investigates the other significant factors affecting municipal solid waste costs, analysing a large dataset of 1914 municipalities. The study uses regression analysis on aggregate and regional samples and population-based subsamples to verify the existence of economies of scale or density. The results show that environmental compliance determines cost reduction in the northern regions, thanks to more efficient separate collection management and recycling activities in the downstream phases of the process. Instead, environmental compliance produces a cost increase in central regions due to the lack of waste recycling and composting infrastructure. Finally, in the conclusions, policy implications are drawn for the Italian case. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

21 pages, 1627 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Oil Price, Economic Growth and Urbanization on CO₂ Emissions in GCC Countries: Asymmetry Analysis

by Haider Mahmood, Alam Asadov, Muhammad Tanveer, Maham Furqan and Zhang Yu

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4562; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084562 - 11 Apr 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3648

Abstract

Oil prices and rapidly increasing urbanization could have a long-lasting impact on the environment in oil-abundant Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Therefore, the environmental role of oil price, economic growth, and urbanization on CO₂ emissions should be tested. The present study investigates the impact of oil price, economic growth, and urbanization on CO₂ emissions in those countries, considering asymmetrical relationships. For this purpose, a nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag cointegration approach is applied in GCC countries during the 1980–2019 period, and cointegration is corroborated in all investigated models. Long-run results show that rising economic growth positively affects CO₂ emissions in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Decreasing economic growth positively affects CO₂ emissions in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Moreover, the rising oil price has a positive impact on CO₂ emissions and shows a scale effect in Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, it has a negative effect and corroborates technique and composition effects in Kuwait and the UAE. Further, decreasing oil prices has a positive impact on CO₂ emissions in Bahrain and has a negative effect in Kuwait and the UAE. Lastly, urbanization positively affects CO₂ emissions in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE. Economic growth is found asymmetrical in all GCC countries, and the asymmetrical effect of oil price is also observed in all GCC countries except the UAE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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18 pages, 2085 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Coal, Petroleum, and Gas Embedded in the Sectoral Demand-and-Supply Chain: Evidence from China

by Muhammad Jawad Sajid, Zhang Yu and Syed Abdul Rehman

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1888; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031888 - 07 Feb 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3982

Abstract

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number seven expressly calls for universal access to affordable and sustainable energy. Energy sustainability will require a reduction in energy consumption, including embedded energy consumption in sectoral demand and supply chains. However, few studies have estimated the amount of coal, petroleum, and gas (fossil fuel) embedded in demand-and-supply chains (FFEDS). Furthermore, the inter-and intra-sectoral energy linkages are understudied. This study quantifies China’s FFEDS, the world’s largest energy consumer. According to the findings, the highest levels of coal, natural gas, and petroleum consumption (CNGPC) are embedded in the construction sector’s input demand. “Electricity and steam production and supply” total intermediate exports (internal plus inter-sectoral) stimulated the highest coal consumption. “Crude petroleum products and natural gas products” and “railway freight transport” aggregate supplies induced the highest volume of natural gas and petroleum consumption. Compared to intra-sectoral demand, inter-sectoral demand stimulated significantly larger CNGPCs. In contrast, CNGPC’s inter- and inter-sectoral supplies were nearly identical. Modifying current carbon taxation and credit mechanisms to include energy embedded in demand and supply can help to achieve SDG 7. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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13 pages, 296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Fiscal and Monetary Policies and Environment in GCC Countries: Analysis of Territory and Consumption-Based CO₂ Emissions

by Haider Mahmood, Anass Hamadelneel Adow, Muzafar Abbas, Asim Iqbal, Muntasir Murshed and Maham Furqan

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1225; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031225 - 21 Jan 2022

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3333

Abstract

Expansionary monetary and fiscal policies are necessary for economic and environmental development. The present research studies the impact of monetary policy and fiscal policy on Territory-Based CO₂ (TBC) and Consumption-Based CO₂ (CBC) emissions in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies from 1990–2019. The cointegration is corroborated through various tests, and long-term relationships are found in both TBC and CBC models. Government expenditures have long-term positive effects on both TBC and CBC emissions and short-term positive effects on TBC emissions in the region. Money supply negatively affects the TBC and CBC emissions in the long run and positively affects TBC and CBC emissions in the short run. Hence, monetary policy needs a long time to have positive ecological effects in the GCC region. Moreover, fiscal policy in both the long and short run and monetary policy in the short run have scale effects in GCC economies. Therefore, we recommend reducing fiscal measures and encouraging monetary policy in the long run to have positive environmental outcomes in the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 3140 KiB

Open AccessReview

Study Reviews and Rethinking the Key Processes for Managing Building Materials to Enhance the Circular Economy in the AEC Industry

by Harrison Huang and Lu Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11941; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911941 - 22 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1836

Abstract

The rapidly accelerating economic development of newly industrialised countries (NICs) has created far-reaching environmental problems. The new construction of numerous infrastructures and buildings, particularly in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, has led to an exponential increase in the demand for raw materials and energy, which is leading to the depletion of natural resources. The approach to treating these buildings at the end of life has also raised concerns worldwide. Transforming the current linear development model into a circular economy is considered an effective solution. This paper reviews a broad range of relevant literature, extracting four key factors influencing building circularity (BC) from past studies. These factors are interpreted as four key processes dealing with building materials: pre-treatment, composition, decomposition, and post-treatment. We demonstrate how materials are treated throughout the building lifecycle to illustrate the interrelationships among these processes and to exemplify the potential of the key processes for effecting BC. Additionally, two examples are used to support the theoretical framework. This study intends to make contributions to circular economy theories and to provide references for policymakers and practitioners. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Practices and Environmental Policies: A Strategic Move to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals)

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